SHARJAH, 11th January, 2021 (WAM) -- The University of Sharjah (UoS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bayanat for Mapping and Surveying.

Prof. Maamar Bettayeb, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, signed the MoU with Hassan Al Hosani, Executive Director of Bayanat, in the presence of Dr. Salah Taher, Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs, and Prof. Nouar Thabet, Dean of the College of Sciences, and several attendees from both parties.

During the signing, Prof. Bettayeb indicated that the University of Sharjah is working according to its current strategic plan, which was developed according to the directives of its President His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. He then reviewed the university's activities in the field of scientific research and its rise in international rankings. He also mentioned the offered programmes in the field of geographic information systems and remote sensing at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Al Hosani stated that Bayanat is following the vision of the wise leadership to build strategic partnerships with the higher education sector. This is to enhance cooperation in the educational fields and practical research between the education sector and the private sector. This MoU, he continued, is considered a prelude to fruitful cooperation, especially in survey engineering and geospatial data analysis. He added that Bayanat is working on several development plans in the field of remote sensing and the use of artificial intelligence in the analysis of geospatial data and digital maps.

The MoU calls for strengthening cooperation in the areas of academic education and development of programmes by including the name of the University of Sharjah within the list of internally accredited educational bodies with Bayanat. This will help to meet the educational needs of employees, whether in the Bachelor's, Master’s, or the executive leadership programmes, as well as offer practical training programmes for students. It allows them to complete the compulsory practical training programme at Bayanat or its affiliated institutions according to the available specialisations with the possibility of being recruited by them.

The MoU will increase cooperation in the field of data exchange, information, and scientific documents related to joint research and consulting studies projects as well as providing information, data, and resources necessary to conduct joint research programmes, such as contributing to researching the obstacles and challenges facing Bayanat, studying them, and proposing appropriate solutions by the concerned and interested faculty members, researchers, or graduate students’ projects. Both parties will cooperate in holding joint workshops, seminars, and conferences, as well as providing consultations in the fields of geographic information systems, remote sensing, and mapping. They will also cooperate in other possible areas such as foresight, artificial intelligence and its applications, in addition to innovation.

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